The Pacifier Wars

Okay remember I said I was weaning him off the dummies? I got suckered in when all his canine teeth were coming through and only things that helped were Calpol and his soother. And guess what? He now won't let go of the damn thing!

If only...!

I feel a bit of a failure now as it was my own doing that has led to my son to become a binkie-holic. Because I've been in a lot of pain lately (I've hurt my back) I've been letting him get away with murder but now I'm starting to get better things will change. So how will I combat this binkie loving problem we have with our 18 month old toddler?

1. Bed and Naps Only - Originally this was the case. When he has woken up I will remove the binkie from his mouth (or floor if he's dropped it) and put it somewhere he can't reach or see it.
2. Collect Them All - Every so often he will run up to me with no binkie and then next time I look at him he has got one in his mouth. Time to collect them all and put them out of reach!
3. The Santa Clause Trick - Not sure if this will work but going to give it a go. We will collect them all and tell him that Santa will reward him with an extra gift for being a big boy. I pray this works as my target is to have him off them by the time he's 2 years old.
4. If Santa Fails... Time for Binkie Fairy! - She needs them to give to baby fairies and I've heard she leaves something very special behind to say thank you.

I pray one of the final two works. I promised myself he'd be off the pacifiers by the age of two and I fear it's this monster that he has made friends with that is holding him back in his speak. When I see toddlers younger than him who can say "bye-bye" I feel like weeping, because I got too soft on my son one day and then the next and then the next... I know it's daft and I shouldn't judge my own child against other people's children but I do worry that he may be bit behind in learning basic words. And I hate it when he tries to speak with that blasted thing in his mouth. Grrrr!

Pacifier Weaning

Okay I took the first step of ridding the soothers. I don't mind him all that much having it when going to a nap or at bed time, but I get tired of him constantly sucking on it all through the day when he really doesn't need it.

His love of the soother showed at The Baby Show.

Today we went out to the shops and I decided this would be a good time to take it away from him. We left the house at just before 4pm with no pacifier. He was a bit grumpy at first but once we got to Tesco he was playful and smiling loads. When we got home he didn't seem bothered about lack of a dummy so since he had been so good I gave him a treat.

"Can I play Assassin's Creed with Daddy, please?"

Sadly he did get grumpy just as I was getting him ready for bed and was a handful to get his PJs on, but he was calm after a kiss from daddy and a big cup of milk followed by his long-lost buddy... Mr Pacifier.

I do hope to rid of the dummy before he turns 2 years old so this is the start of a process I can bet will not be fun or easy!